The WNBA Draft is usually a moment of celebration for those picked by the league’s teams.
However, Caitlin Clark shared that her draft experience was far from joyous. Selected No. 1 overall by the Indiana Fever, the 22-year-old had little time with the audience as her top-pick status meant she was quickly ushered away.
On the ‘Fresh Tawk’ podcast, Clark expressed her disappointment at being whisked off stage immediately after shaking hands with WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, preventing her from meeting loved ones or watching the rest of the draft, including her former teammate Kate Martin’s selection.
“I was so upset because after I got drafted, I got just drug out immediately and I didn’t get to see any of the draft,” she lamented to her ex-Hawkeyes teammates Martin, Gabbie Marshall, and Jada Gyamfi. “I had my phone, I couldn’t really go on it. It made me so upset. And then, I didn’t even get to see Kate get drafted. It made me really upset.”
Clark further explained that despite the draft being a happy occasion, the setup prevented her from spending time with those important to her. “I didn’t even take pictures with you guys, my family, like Connor [McCaffery], like no one,” she said, reports the Mirror US.
Though disappointed she couldn’t spend time with her family after being drafted, Clark kept her focus during her rookie season. Not only did she live up to the expectations of the No. 1 overall pick, but she also propelled the Fever into the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
Moreover, her entry into the WNBA created an “economic disruption,” a term coined by Hall of Famer Debbie Antonelli. On ‘The C. L. Brown Show’, the 60-year-old delved into what she meant, saying: “No one’s disrupted the economic marketplace and the ecosystem like she has,” leading everyone to take notice.
Antonelli emphasised the importance of this shake-up for propelling the sport forward. She went on to describe the influence Clark had on the league’s fan base through her first-hand observations and pointed out the diverse range of fans expressing their support for the Fever’s standout player as she made her mark in the WNBA.
“I can just tell you by what I experienced this summer in the WNBA, watching how many No. 22s were walking by – little girls, dads, little boys, college-aged guys; I gotta believe that the game’s going to keep evolving on the grassroots level, which I think we were kind of stalled and dropping,” she added.
“Now, I think girls and women are playing more basketball because, now, they’re seeing more opportunities that can be around the game.”
The Fever superstar is taking a break from basketball and is instead channelling her competitive spirit into golf, where she will compete in the Annika Driven By Gainbridge pro-am tournament.
